Taste is very good. This is not to be compared to some other Rye IPA's as that is not the style. For some reason I had thought it was going to be along that flavor profile. Instead there is a healthy dosing of rye, Lots of caramel flavors, earthy pale malt backbone and a subtle American Pale Ale hop flavor profile. Dry to the finish, this is a well balanced beer. Finish is very earthy and highly quaff able.

a - poured a one finger thick off-white head into a snifter that left great lacing throughout. the body was a clear and bright amber color.s - citrus, sweet malts, rye.t - piney and citrusy hops with a bit of spice.m - crisp and medium.o - solid rye beer with a lot of hop punch. (283 characters)

A - poured a dark yellow / faint orange with a MASSIVE, creamy head. I have never seen such a big head on a beer - with a conservative pour, I had about 5% beer, 95% head.

S - loads of grapefruit/citrus hops and some rye malts with a touch of grass

T - the nose didn't translate to the tongue as much as I would have liked. It starts off with a big malt basis of rye and some sweet caramel. On the finish, I got a lot of bitter, grassy and citrus hops. This is a nicely balanced beer.

M - medium to thin body with some nice carbonation.

D - this is a solid rye beer. It had a nice balance between not only between its malt and hops, but between the profiles withing the malts and hops - sweet and rye malts, citrus and grassy hops. I really enjoyed this one - I wish I would have bought more than one bomber of this. (821 characters)

On tap @ Revolution Pizza (Charlotte, NC) on 9/4/09. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a clear amber, with a finger of soft looking brite-white head. Retains with a creamy and smooth look, that just slathers the sides of the glass with rich lacing. The aroma is floral and piney in the nose, with an earthy spiciness to it, from a combo of the hops and rye. Sweet notes of bread, caramel, and citrus, give this a sticky backing.

The taste is sticky sweet, with a spicy and drying nature to it. A moderately sharp bitterness, lingers long and steady. Nice soft tang to this, from the malts and citric notes. The mouthfeel is medium bodied (maybe a tad lighter in spots), with a softer and slick creaminess to the carbonation. A bit more of a prickly nature rears it's head in the back, giving this some pop towards the back of the swallow.

Nice. Solid blend of hops character, spicy rye, and sweeter malts here, wrapped up in a sleek and drinkable body. I didn't quite expect to like this one nearly as much as I did. A winner from French Broad. (1,046 characters)

A: The beer is clear amber in color and poured with a thin white head.S: There are moderate aromas of grapefruit hops in the nose.T: Like the smell, the taste has some citrusy flavors as well as some flavors of rye.M: It feels medium-bodied and smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.D: This beer is very drinkable because there is a good balance between the flavors from the malts and hops. (415 characters)

From the widely lauded cellars of O'Hoove this brew has a dark copper color, pretty clear with a reasonable off-white head and excellent lacing. The aroma is almost a medicinal buttery rye, herbal hop with some malt balance. The flavor brings bright grassy rye with a herbal malt base. I get some raspberry fruit sweetness but it's subtle. Good drinkability with mid-bodied feel but tangy and crisp. A nice brew with a somewhat dry finish and unique character. A nice introduction to French Broad if you like the sharp edge of this hop brew. (541 characters)

Served in a pint glass. Dark copper, mostly clear but a slight bit of haze. Nice little whitish head fades quickly.Nose is hoppy. Not much of the rye there.Taste is spicy rye, interweaving pine hops and malts, and more lingering bready rye. Nice combination of flavors.Pretty decent mouthfeel and drinkability. Nice beer. (335 characters)

Pours with a creamy, off-white head... not something I would've expected. Body is a very cloudy, dirty-amber. Lots of lacing. Big points on all appearance levels, esp for the style and being under 6%.

Aromas are full of bitter rye, with some sweet candy alcohol to balance. Some butter leaf lettuce, touch of pumpernickel, and a finish of soap.

Flavor is very hop-forward. The mouthfeel is creamy, and relatively light/thin compared to most rye-focused beers. Flavors have lots of floral and herbal (tobacco) qualities, along with a white pepper bite. Great dose of rye malt.

I've been on a rye love affair for the past few months, with both beer and whiskey, so maybe my review is overinflated, but if you enjoy rye and all that it brings, give this one a try... very affordable, too. (849 characters)

S: Excellent rye malt presence, grainy and spicy. Hop presence is all rinds - lemon, orange, grapefruit. Not juicy, sort of muddled but in a good way. Well balanced nose.

T: Piny, citric hop bite turns grassy mid sip. Malt comes off grainy and spicy as in the nose, but a caramel malt-ish base now plays a supporting role. Finish is bitter and dry, ending with that citrus rind note.

M/D: Smooth, medium carbonation. Packing a ton of flavor at only 5.9%, this beer has nothing to hide. Excellently crafted, almost sessionable too. (613 characters)

Amber in color with no head and no lacing. This could be more from the pour than the beer itself.Nice aroma of earthy hops and rye.Sweet caramel malt backbone with a healthy dose of rye. The hops are more subdued than expected given the name of the beer. But they are there and of the earthy variety. This beer is more rye heavy than hop heavy imo.Mouthfeel is medium with a bit more sharpness from the rye which I like.Overall it's a good beer that you should give a try if you have the chance. (499 characters)

Hazy copper hue with a short, creamy head. Rye grain is forefront in the aroma...sweet, woody, and earthy. Some chocolate as it warms. Hops are grassy with a good bit of citrus pulp. Spicy rye and sweet caramel flavors. Not a hell of a lot of flavor from the hops, but a nice balancing bitterness that works well with the spicy qualities. This is getting chocolaty the longer it sits in my glass. Medium bodied and creamy smooth which thickens it up a tad.

Better than anything else I've had from French Broad. I like it. (522 characters)

Pours clear copper/amber with a one finger white head that quickly fades to a small foamy island and ring, but does leave some nice lacing.

Rye bread is heavy on the nose with a good deal of citrus, earthy, grassy, floral hops, a little caramel and toffee, good strength.

Flavor features strong grapefruit hops, a little pine and earth, caramel, and a nice wave of rye bread in the middle with its inherent spiciness that meshes well with the bitterness from the hops on the finish. Very well balanced and quite robust and flavorful.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, medium to high carbonation, a bit oily.

Wow, this one exceeded expectations, right up there with the fantastic Red's Rye from Founders. The best French Broad brew I've had to date. (780 characters)

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark orange amber, one-finger of sticky, offwhite head with good - perhaps great - retention, replete with tons of fast, fine-bubbled effervescence. Very nice across the board - retention, clarity, and color. Great stickage on the lace too, falling like rings with every sip.

Aroma: Rye is huge in this one, spicy and bold, and comes accompanied by tons of other hop notes - orange zest, slight herbal notes, and a well-roasted array of backing malt notes (though the rye's definitely the real star here).

Taste: Rye is huge again, bigger than in most brews I've had. It's almost like "hey, so THIS is what rye tastes like!" Remainder of the malt bill is slightly toasty, with hints of toasted bread and faint cocoa. Overall, it's sort of dry, with hint of bitterness and perhaps a few other faint hop undertones.

Mouthfeel: Incredibly smooth and soft, though it does manage to still be slightly crisp given all the carbonation, all wrapped up in a medium body. Very light and airy.

Drinkability: A damn good beer, in my opinion, and one of the few rye beers I've truly enjoyed. I'd glad to have this one again, and would really like to try it on tap. Manages to strike all the right notes without going overboard, and the abv% seemed low enough to where a few of these wouldn't be a problem. Recommended. (1,392 characters)

Pours a hazy copper color with a one-finger off-white head. The head recedes into a patchy layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of grassy hops and robust caramel malts with a hint of spiciness from the rye.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Caramel malt flavors up front are soon joined by grassy and piney hop flavors. Near the end of the sip a good amount of spiciness kicks in before a solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a very nice thickness with solid carbonation.

Drinkability is good. I had no problem finishing my glass and could have a few of these.

Overall this is a good and hoppy rye beer (as the name would suggest) that does a good job of integrating the rye. It falls short of the best rye beers out there, but is still worth a shot.

Note: I tried this side by side with the bottle version and the tap version is thicker with a cleaner hop flavor. Definitely try on-tap if possible. (962 characters)

I purchased this bomber at the brewery on a recent trip to Asheville. We enjoy some local bluegrass while sampling some beers, but brought this one home to PA.

A - This beer poured darker than I expected - deep amber and even close to brown in some spots. A small off-white head with little retention, but a good amount of lacing present on the glass.

S - I really like the smell on this one. Some toastiness, rye, and hops - that's what I got from it. Not much more to go one about here.

T/M - Again really nice, nothing overwhelming, but just straight forward good. Some sweet notes with a good dose of rye followed closely by the hops - some citrus and some pine. The aftertaste hangs on after the beer is gone. There is a pretty big prickly sensation on the tongue from this one at first, but that mellows quickly and the carbonation is very well done.

D - Easy to drink and could have a few more. I hope this isn't taken the wrong way. Nothing spectacular, but just a good all-around beer that I would love to have on hand! I will definitely pick more up next time in NC!! (1,081 characters)

22oz bottle into a Duvel snifter pours a crisp copper with a decent cream head. Aroma is a nice bit of rye with citrus hops right behind. The taste is a nice sharp rye bite balanced nicely with citrus hops. The beer is light and smooth with decent carbonation, very refreshing. This is certainly a great beer, one I'd love to see around this area as long as the price isn't jacked up by the distributor. (403 characters)

A- Pours a dark copper color with a 1/2 inch tan head that retains well before it slithers down to a thick ring around the edge of the glass and a mostly full sheet of surface foam. Resilient lacing leaves a full sheet behind on the glass.

S- Crisp and a bit citrusy with a slight malt sweetness.

T- The rye balances out the hop bite precisely making for a drink that's just as malty and spicy as it is grassy and fruity. Lingering bitterness.

M- Oily and a bit sharp from the hops. Medium carbonation and a body that's on the full side.

O- Nothing too complex but it is effective in its execution. Drinkable, enjoyable and flavorful. Isn't that all that matters? (709 characters)

Dispensed from the tap a chocolate brown color with a small white head. Not much in the way of lacing or head retention.

Aroma is clearly rye and some hops. Not much else. Some chocolate and coffee but rye seems to be the star of the show, and that is fine with me.

Very nice flavor. Chocolate and rye greet the tongue immediately. Medium body and such a smooth and sweet drinkability. I really enjoyed this: so much so that I had the same beer in two different places. Well done! (548 characters)